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Scott Raskiewicz
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This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates. |
Scott Raskiewicz was a candidate for at-large representative on the Saint Paul Board of Education in Minnesota. The general election was held on November 3, 2015. Scott Raskiewicz lost the general election on November 3, 2015.
Raskiewicz ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party nomination in the Minnesota gubernatorial election in 2010.[1] He also ran unsuccessfully as a Green Party candidate for the 4th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002.[2] He is affiliated with both the Green Party and the Democratic Party, but board elections are officially nonpartisan.
Biography
Scott Raskiewicz resides in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Raskiewicz is employed as a writer and has previously worked as a professional tennis teacher. He also spent 17 years serving as a substitute teacher with Saint Paul Public Schools.[3]
Elections
2015
The election in Saint Paul featured four of the seven seats on the board up for at-large general election on November 3, 2015.
The seats of incumbents Anne Carroll, Mary Doran, Keith Hardy, and Louise Seeba were up for election. Hardy, who was the only incumbent who filed for re-election, faced challengers Aaron Anthony Benner, Greg Copeland, Zuki Ellis, Linda Freeman, Steve Marchese, Scott Raskiewicz, Jon Schumacher, and Mary Vanderwert for the four at-large seats.
Ellis, Marchese, Schumacher, and Vanderwert won the four seats. All four were endorsed by the Saint Paul Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, and they campaigned together as an unofficial candidate slate.[4]
Benner informally ended his campaign on September 16, 2015, but he still appeared on the ballot since the formal withdrawal deadline was August 13, 2015. He stated that if he had won, he would not take office. Copeland previously ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the board in 2013.
Results
| Saint Paul Public Schools, At-Large, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Mary Vanderwert |
20.3% | 17,777 |
| Zuki Ellis |
17.4% | 15,290 |
| Jon Schumacher |
16.7% | 14,652 |
| Steve Marchese |
16.6% | 14,524 |
| Keith Hardy Incumbent | 9.7% | 8,548 |
| Linda Freeman | 6.7% | 5,914 |
| Greg Copeland | 5.1% | 4,468 |
| Scott Raskiewicz | 3.2% | 2,810 |
| Aaron Anthony Benner | 3.0% | 2,660 |
| Write-in votes | 1.19% | 1,047 |
| Total Votes | 87,690 | |
| Source: Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Local Results in Ramsey County," accessed November 4, 2015 These election results are not official and will be updated when certified results are available. You can submit certified results by contacting us. |
||
Funding
Raskiewicz reported no contributions or expenditures to the Ramsey County Election Office during the election.[5]
Endorsements
Raskiewicz did not receive any official endorsements during the election.
Campaign themes
2015
Raskiewicz completed a survey conducted by the Pioneer Press:
| “ | Why are you qualified to hold this office?
I've worked in a variety of educational settings for over 40 years, including 17 as a substitute teacher in St. Paul. I understand education and its importance to democracy. As a writer with a focus on political economy I know that U.S. education suffers from corrupt economic and political systems. I have common sense, pro-democracy solutions for ending corruption and improving public education. What will be your top priorities if elected? Smaller class sizes; ending the dehumanizing obsession with standardized testing and technology in favor of a richer, more diverse, human centered curriculum with daily fitness and art; ending the scapegoating of teachers for problems beyond their control; addressing the ROOT CAUSES of the problems facing education. My approach will ameliorate the achievement gap and all other education problems.[6] |
” |
| —Pioneer Press survey (2015)[7] | ||
Candidate website
Raskiewicz published the following on his campaign website:
| “ | The American education system must be reformed to properly serve students, our society, and the concept of democracy.
The corporate, economic, and political elite and their collaborators would like us to believe that the purpose of education is to prepare students to “compete in the global economy.” I believe the purpose of education to to prepare students to cooperate in the global community. Enlightened people know that the days of U.S. domination of the world, both economically and militarily, are over. If the United States is to be a world leader it must do so by example, not by deceit, threats, and military violence. The education system must acknowledge this reality and prepare students accordingly. The one size fits all assembly-line approach to education, based on high stakes standardized testing, must end. It is a failure that more deeply engrains the anti-democratic status quo that defines our nation. It also destroys the innate human desire to learn and contribute to and be a valued member of society. Reflecting our social nature we must move toward human based, not testing and technology based, education. Technology and testing have a place but are not the panaceas we’ve been led to believe. Instead of a system based on large class sizes, technology, and standardized testing we must have more teachers, smaller class sizes, and an individual and group project base approach to education. This approach will emphasize reading, writing, math, cooperation, critical thinking, and liberal arts, including the age appropriate study of philosophy. Like a life well-lived, education must focus on problem solving, living in harmony with the natural world, and the creation of joyful human relationships. Toward that end, we must dramatically increase student opportunities in the fine arts and recreation. This approach will require increased funding. But it will more than pay for itself in the long run. We must always remember that we are not a poor city, state, or nation. The problem is that we are poorly governed. Our city, state, and nation have an abundance of wealth but a shortage of democracy in deciding how that abundant wealth is circulated, accumulated, taxed, and used. This is the fundamental problem facing education and our society today. It is a problem that must be addressed by every elected official, including school board members.[6] |
” |
| —Scott Raskiewicz campaign website (2015)[3] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Scott Raskiewicz' 'Saint Paul Public Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Current, "A list of candidates for governor," January 18, 2010
- ↑ Pioneer Press, "St. Paul Public Schools board elections draws nine candidates," August 11, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Authentic Democracy Allowed, "Scott for School Board," September 2, 2015
- ↑ Pioneer Press, "Ellis, Marchese, Schumacher, Vanderwert: We're of varied background and opinion, and we'll keep doing our homework," April 25, 2015
- ↑ Ramsey County Election Office, "Campaign Finance Reports - 2015," accessed November 1, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Pioneer Press, "Your 2015 Pioneer Press voter's guide," October 9, 2015
| 2015 Saint Paul Public Schools Elections | |
| Ramsey County, Minnesota | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Keith Hardy • Aaron Anthony Benner • Greg Copeland • Zuki Ellis • Linda Freeman • Steve Marchese • Scott Raskiewicz • Jon Schumacher • Mary Vanderwert |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
